Free Demon Hunters 3: Tainted (Stand Alone Series) (Demon Hunters.) by Avril Sabine Page A

cousin. Possibly even my fourth. It gets confusing. Anyway, you haven’t met her. Can I bring her over? And where do you live?”
    “Does she know how to do it?”
    “More than she wishes sometimes.”
    “Then I want to talk to her.” Cassidy rattled off her address then had to wait until Gabe found pen and paper to write it down.
    “We’ll be there in about an hour.”
    The next hour passed far too slowly for Cassidy. She continued to pace through the house, occasionally stopping to look at an object and remember better days. And to think she’d thought nothing could get worse than her mum having early onset Alzheimer’s. But how could she have even considered demons existed? No one believed in them. Or if they did, it was usually because they were crazy. Isn’t that what she’d thought of her father? How many other people who were considered crazy for believing in demons were actually sane?
    When she heard the knock at her front door, she raced through the house to throw the door open. Three people stood on her doorstep.
    Gabe grinned at her and pointed to his companions in turn. “Jesse. Scarlett.”
    Jesse had eyes dark enough to be black, an angular face with slashing cheeks, close cropped dark hair, broad shoulders, a row of earrings up both ears and in one eyebrow. Scarlett wore a small gold cross on a cord necklace around her throat, had warm brown eyes, a wiry frame and short blond hair that feathered around her fine boned face. The three of them were dressed in black jeans and short sleeved shirts and had demon marks around their left wrists.
    Cassidy stepped back so they could enter and led them to her lounge room. She waited until they were seated before she spoke to Scarlett. “Gabe said you know about binding demons.”
    “You should be trying to get rid of the demon currently bound to you instead of collecting more,” Scarlett said.
    “No way. I wouldn’t survive a minute against demons without him.”
    “You wouldn’t have to fight alone. No one should take on a demon alone,” Scarlett said.
    “I prefer to fight alone. You can’t rely on people. Ever. This,” she touched her mark that moved slightly under her skin, “Is what allows me to kick demon butt. In fact, I could probably take on all of you and win.”
    Jesse grinned, slightly predatory. “I wouldn’t count on that, demon girl.”
    Heat flared in Cassidy’s mark and she was out of the seat in a second and across the room to grab one of the many daggers she’d stashed around her house. “What are you?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Jesse, the dagger unsheathed and pointed towards him.
    All the demon hunters were on their feet, but before Jesse could reply, Scarlett stepped forward, a hand gesture holding her companions back. “We’re not here to hurt you, Cassidy.”
    “Then what is he? And how could he get past the salt across my front doorstep?”
    “He used to be a demon, but he’s human now.”
    Cassidy shook her head at Scarlett’s words. “That wasn’t human I felt.”
    “There’s a slight trace of demon still left in him. But he won’t hurt you. None of us are here to hurt you. We want to help you get rid of Remedy.” Scarlett took a step forward. “I’m sure we can figure this out.” Another step forward.
    Cassidy still held her dagger protectively in front of her. “All I want to know is how to bind a demon. I’m keeping Remedy. I read Demonology. That’s not me. I don’t believe in all that religious crap.”
    “How can you not believe? All these demons, don’t they prove anything to you?” Scarlett asked.
    “Yeah, that humans aren’t top of the food chain like they believe. And those bastards better watch out when I’m around. I’m nobody’s prey.”
    Scarlett winced at her choice of words.
    Gabe grinned. “Didn’t I tell you she was extremely likeable?”
    Scarlett sent Gabe a pointed look. “No wonder your mum was concerned for your soul, Gabriel.”
    Gabe shrugged. “If she